We're on the move

The move to our new offices started today and marks the end of a very stressful few weeks where at one stage we thought we'd never get sorted in time. However with the help of some specialist clients and hard work from our staff we have now moved in. Hard to believe this was the new office 2 days ago and the finished result today.

Thanks to everyone who helped to make this happen!

Endeavour are official suppliers to the G-Cloud 7 Framework

Endeavour Information Solutions is pleased to announce that we have been accepted as a supplier to the G-Cloud 7 Framework.  The G-Cloud Framework is the UK government’s public sector cloud procurement framework which offers a list of approved suppliers who can offer the public sector a wide range of cloud solutions, platforms and services.  

G-Cloud 7 can be used by organisations across the UK public sector including central government, local government, health, education, emergency services, defence and not-for-profit organisations.

Endeavour’s particular offerings are released under Lot 4: Specialist Cloud Services and are broken down as follows:

• Microsoft SharePoint Consultancy & Development
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Consultancy & Development
• Custom Application Development
• Cloud Migration Services

Based in the heart of Belfast, Endeavour has established a strong track record of working in the public and commercial sector over the last 6 years and are currently working on projects with public sector clients in the energy regulation and education sectors.  Now being part of the G-Cloud framework we will continue with this work and be able to offer even more cloud based solutions to public and non-profit sector based customers.

For more information about the range of cloud services Endeavour can offer your organisation, please contact Lee Surgeoner at our offices on 028 9031 1010 or via email to solutions@endeavour-is.com

Beware of false IT help

We have been receiving increased reports of people calling individuals and businesses across NI claiming to be from Microsoft who want to fix a common problem or virus on your computer.  They then talk you through setting up remote access in order to allow them access to your PC  to resolve the problem.  

You can imagine that once these people get access to your computer the kinds or risks you'll then be exposed to in terms of fraud or even ransom as they encrypt your data and refuse to give it back unless you pay them a sum of money.

So with all that in mind here are some basic points to remember:

• Microsoft technical support will never call you directly unless you have initiated a support request with them beforehand.

• Microsoft don't email or call you to let you know your PC is infected, then offer to come round and fix it.

• Never let any company who you do not know or work with have access to your computer remotely.

• Never open email attachments or click on email links from companies or people you do not work with or are expecting information from.  A common threat is one from a courier service with a file attached that has information regarding your delivery.  Ask yourself first, why would this be sent to me, did I order something and why are they not telling me in the email message itself?  

• A good rule of thumb with handling email is if you don't know the sender and are not expecting it, delete it...!  Don't worry about taking that approach, if it was legitimate someone will make contact again.

Unfortunately, computer security elements alone such as antivirus and firewalls are vital but equally can only do so much to protect you.  The other factor to consider when securing your IT systems is you and your users.  If they are not made aware of the potential threats out there and given guidance on appropriate use of IT then you are putting yourself at more risk than you need to be.

For further information on practical IT security please contact us any time on 028 9031 1010 or via email at solutions@endeavour-is.com

What's coming to Office 365

The days of the IT upgrade where everyone has to take a day off for the IT people to get new software installed onto their PCs is over for those businesses using Office 365, as it is continuously updating with new features all the time.  As this episode of Office Mechanics shows there have been over 450 new features in the last year alone and more to come with Office 365 now extending to different platforms such as iOS and Android and with it offering more than just a place to store your stuff.

Check out the short video below to see what has been happening and what is coming our way soon with better integration and new applications joining the Office 365 family such as Office Delve and Sway.

For more information on what Office 365 could do for your business or to arrange a free demonstration or trial, you can contact us at solutions@endeavour-is.com or call 028 9031 1010 at any time.

Next generation web browsing with Microsoft Edge

This week is Microsoft's annual developer conference and as such Microsoft tends to use this conference as the setting stage to make a lot of announcements about things coming in the near future, and one such announcement has been the name of their new browser called, Microsoft Edge which will be coming as part of forthcoming release of Windows 10.

According to Microsoft, this browser platform utilises modern web content and security standards and is built for doing not just looking, with built-in note taking and sharing; a reading pane for no distractions; and integration with Cortana, Microsoft's digital assistant on Windows Phone and Windows 10 devices.

You can get a quick glimpse of the look and feel of Microsoft Edge in the video below:

Doesn't look bad at all and just goes to show that this next version of Windows will have a few surprises in store and will not be your average Windows upgrade - we can't wait...

Why would my business want Cloud Computing?

If we go back in time five years any discussion we would have had about technology for a business would have probably involved topics such as: server hardware, reliable and flexible access to email, having enough storage for growth, assurance of backup and speed of recovery.

These topics have not changed today, but where all of these things would have been based on equipment running within the business itself and would come with a lot of flexibility, they also came with a lot of additional costs in terms of service contracts, software upgrades and periods of downtime with productivity loss when things either went wrong or something needed upgraded.  So something had to change!

So back to today and that same business conversation in terms of the options available have changed quite a bit.  For example, email is usually one of the most important applications in a business today, so it needs to be reliable.  So moving this out of your building where the internet connection may not be the most reliable into an environment that will always make sure email keeps running and is kept secure for the fraction of the price of running a server in your building can be quite compelling.  You also have the added benefit of not worrying if your office internet connection goes down not getting your email, as you'll still get your email on your phone, tablet or anywhere else you are with an internet connection.  Now that can be very compelling!

So here are some reasons why you should consider a move to cloud computing:

• Lower operating costs - less systems running the in your office means less to manage or maintain which in turn lowers the costs for support and upgrades and keeps your team productive;

• Business continuity is built it - unlike your in house IT system that is dependant on components, power and internet providers, cloud computing platforms are built with redundancy from the ground up.  Multiple mirrors of your data are held both locally and geographically in data centres with multiple power sources and internet connections. There are not many businesses that could justify that level of spend on redundancy and business continuity which is what makes these platforms very appealing as now they don't have to worry about it;

• Compliance is automatic - cloud computing vendors need to ensure you the customer they can not only protect your data but have controls in place to ensure a member of staff can't just plug in a USB key and lift your data.  Not every supplier takes this to the highest level but the ones that do, follow strict operating guidelines and get independently audited to the latest international compliance standards; and finally

• Costs are measureable and controllable - just like keeping the lights on in your house effects your electricity bill the same can be said for cloud computing.  These services usually work to a per user, per month or number of units consumed over time type of model. So if you increase or decrease usage this is proportionate to the price you pay per billing period.

Not everything today is as cloud computing friendly as email or websites.  Some of that is down to the variances in the speed of the internet connection depending on where you are or what you are doing.  But the majority of the issues are down to how certain applications are designed; if they were designed to run on a server then they are best kept on a server.  However, on the plus side the server they now run on now doesn't have to be the top of range specification, because now the server is going to be doing a lot less than it did before and doesn't need to be as powerful or cost as much.  Even as I write this, more and more forward thinking software companies already have or are working on moving their applications to this type of environment and the ones that don't will be left behind as this technology is only getting better as each day passes.

For more information on how cloud computing could save your business time and money, give Endeavour a call today on 028 9031 1010 or email solutions@endeavour-is.com and arrange to see a first hand demonstration of cloud computing at work and we can show you what it could do for your business.

Is Office 365 secure?

So you are about to upgrade your ICT systems and a number of the potential suppliers you've been talking to are recommending a cloud based solution - but how can you be sure your information will be safe?

It's one of the first and most common questions I get asked every time we meet with a customer and demonstrate one of the Microsoft Cloud Services, such as Office 365, Dynamics CRM Online or Microsoft Azure.

It's a really important question and is a completely understandable concern for any organisation considering a cloud based solution.  However, when we start to look at what most of these customers currently have in place we normally discover that a move to a service such as Office 365 is actually more secure than what they have in place at present - let me explain.

There is more to IT security than who can see your data.  There are a variety of different risks to mitigate on a continuous basis, so it's not just about where the ones and zeros are stored but more about how your information is stored based on your company's need and the layers of protection both physical and logical that are applied to that information on an ongoing basis.  So, if you think about an organisation that has a server located within its premises, there are all kinds of risks some of which are addressed continiously such as backup and some that are probably not addressed quite so regularly such as software upgrades, auditing, security patches, information classification and business continuity.  Then there are the basic risks such as physical security, power, cooling and connectivity which are all the addressed with strict policies and standards along with failover systems in a Microsoft cloud environment but would be very expensive for your typical small/medium sized business to implement in-house.  Therefore, your typical small/medium organisation will usually accept some of these risks but the argument would be if they did move to something such as Office 365 they would actually increase their information security and business continuity capability compared to running their information systems on servers within their offices.

An example of one element of security functionality Office 365 can provide is shown in the video below which shows how Office 365 offers encryption at all layers of the business from internal data sharing to external communication with 3rd parties:

This is just one of many layers of security that is implemented within the Microsoft Cloud Services stack and there is far more than we could cover in one news item.  However, its safe to say that Microsoft as a cloud services provider does take information security serious and as a provider as Software as a Service (SaaS) in the case of Office 365 has a wide range of internal access controls, multiple security technology layers, redundant/backup systems and compliance monitoring with independent security auditors.

So the answer we provider our customers is: "Yes, Office 365 is not just secure but is likely to be more secure and reliable than the server in your back office."  Not only that it will continue to be reviewed and upgraded everyday and you as the end customer can be as involved in that as you want or need to be going forward.

For more information on just how seriously Microsoft takes the security of its cloud services you can visit the Office 365 Trust Centre where you will see first hand the facilities and measures that are implemented and maintained on an ongoing basis.